Artful Tales: The real scoop, and some fiction, about the Gardner Museum heist

About this blog

By John Winters

John Winters is a Massachusetts native who has spent more than a decade as a journalist and still contributes to select publications. His work has appeared in Salon, the Providence Phoenix, Runner's World, Playboy, The Patriot Ledger, Rhode Island
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John Winters is a Massachusetts native who has spent more than a decade as a journalist and still contributes to select publications. His work has appeared in Salon, the Providence Phoenix, Runner's World, Playboy, The Patriot Ledger, Rhode Island Monthly, Art New England, as well as daily papers across southeastern Massachusetts and various websites. His short stories have appeared in literary journals. He is the author of the novel, Murderhouse Blues, and the short story collection, Coulda Been Somebody. John is an adjunct faculty member at Bridgewater State University, where he teaches English.

A new photography exhibit has opened at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, featuring images commemorating the 1990 theft of artwork from the esteemed institution. Long one of the great unsolved heists of our age, the crime seems closer than ever to being solved. In March, authorities announced they knew who robbed the museum of the 13 works of art, valued at a billion dollars. This represents the largest theft of personal property in history. Since the announcement, the world’s been waiting to see what happens next.

Meanwhile, two writers with Rhode Island roots have placed the famous heist at the center of recent books.

Anthony M. Amore’s “Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists” (Palgrave Macmillan, 241 pages, written with Tom Mashberg) is a fact-filled work by the current head of security at the Gardner. He wasn’t there when the robbery took place, but has been dealing with its fallout daily since he came on the job in 2005. In his book, Amore sets out to disabuse readers of the notion that art theft is anything like what’s portrayed by Hollywood, where a “professional, technically brilliant thief” pulls off a miraculous score. “The reality is far more grimy and far less romantic,” Amore writes. Typically, art theft is committed by common criminals, who are clueless about what they’re doing or what to do with the booty once they’ve got it.

As the title indicates, “Stealing Rembrandts” discusses why the works of the Dutch master are much sought after by crooks, and also details the Gardner robbery. Amore then takes readers on a tour of art theft history, providing sometimes-hilarious stories of miscalculation and stupidity, but also conveying the terrible sense of loss when masterpieces disappear from places where art lovers can appreciate them. The book is a wonderful mix of history, art appreciation and true crime writing.

There’s plenty of fun for area residents within the pages of Charles Pinning’s “Irreplaceable.” The author fills the pages of this whodunit with plenty of local flavor. Pinning’s hero, Swanson Di Chiera, is a Providence-based writer and the eternal outsider to the worlds depicted in the novel. Whether it's Hollywood, art collecting or even parenthood, Swanson gamely dives in but is clearly a fish out of water.

The action begins when an old friend, the actress Aleda Collie (who’s famous enough that someone once tried to sell her underwear on Ebay), comes to Rhode Island to make a film about Isabella Stewart Gardner. While Swanson is angling to rekindle any old sparks that may still be flickering between them, the Rhode Island School of Design’s Museum is robbed in much the same manner as the Gardner was. Also, Swanson’s best friend, Susan, who works at the RISD Museum, goes missing, leaving our hero to watch over her two children. The kids were the offspring of old friends of Susan and Swanson who years earlier died in a mysterious car accident.

The action bounces between Newport, Providence and Boston, as Swanson tries not only to find out what happened to his friend, but also solve the Gardner Museum theft and claim the huge reward.

Pinning’s protagonist gets arrested, loses the kids, and goes deeper into debt he can’t afford (“My life feels like a Jackson Pollock painting – splattered all over the place,” he thinks at one point), all the while tracking down the various leads he’s uncovered. While I won’t spoil the big ending, I can tell you that Swanson learns a few things about life along the way. Spending Christmas with the two youngsters he’s found himself caring for, he thinks to himself: “So, I smile and laugh and make myself have fun with them, even though I am broken-hearted and worried about many things. This, I now realize, is what parents do.”

Pinning’s prose is always smooth, and his dialogue is spot on. Along the way there are bits of Ocean State history and lots of local streets and neighborhoods that come to life in the hands of a writer who knows them well. In the end, it appears that the adage about good ol’ Rhody is true: Everyone knows everyone else.